Description
Kelham Hall | Newark, Nottinghamshire
Viewing: Tues 16th June from 12pm
Auction: Wed 17th June from 9am
Location: Main Street, Newark, Nottinghamshire NG23 5QX
1983 Chevrolet Corvette C3
Extremely original with just 23, 000 miles!
Estimate
£20, 000 - £25, 000
Registration No: GGC 511X
Chassis No: 1G1AY8781C5114029
MOT: Exempt
Extremely low mileage of only 23, 000 from new
Full ownership history, with just six keepers throughout its life
Remarkably original, unrestored example, with factory stickers in place throughout, including the security sticker on the glass T-Tops
High specification example with rare colour scheme; power windows and mirrors; and air-conditioning
Offered with a large history file including mileage and ownership history
Introduced three years after Chevrolet's wonderfully dramatic 1965 Mako Shark II show car, the so-called “C3” Corvette borrowed heavily from the Shark’s “Coke bottle” silhouette. Underpinned by a perimeter-frame chassis featuring all-round independent suspension, recirculating-ball steering and four-wheel disc brakes, the newcomer's beautifully moulded fibreglass skin wore slimline chrome bumpers. With even the mildest of its “small block” V8 engines being rated at 300bhp and 360lb. ft. of torque, the C3 could really perform. Tested by Road & Track magazine against a Porsche 911, Jaguar E-type and Mercedes-Benz 280SL, just such an entry-level ’Vette acquitted itself with honours. Demolishing the opposition in a straight line, it split the Europeans on the slalom and other handling tests. Manufactured in coupé and convertible guises until 1975, it continued in coupé form only until 1982.
Among Corvette enthusiasts, 1982 models are a point of considerable interest as they represent the very last year of ‘C3’ production and, in the eyes of some, the last of the classic Corvettes. All ’82s were built with a 5. 7-litre (350ci) V8 and four-speed automatic transmission, but they were notable as the very first Corvettes to have the Crossfire electronic fuel-injection, which returned for the ‘C4’. This particular car displays several desirable factory options, including the aluminium wheels; glass roof panels (still with factory stickers and security etchings); power windows, mirrors and door locks; Tilt-Telescopic steering column; air conditioning; the extremely rare eight-track stereo; Dark Red leather bucket seats; and the 1982-only two-tone paint in Silver Metallic and Dark Claret Metallic. Just 1, 301 cars were completed in that colour scheme, approximately half having the Dark Red interior.
The earliest record of ownership is a 1984 Florida title, which names the owners as Russell B. Yowell Jr. and (we assume) his wife Deborah, who lived in Tampa. In 1990, after 8, 300 miles, they sold it to John Colman of Winter Haven, but in 1991 Colman crossed the Atlantic, settling in Heathfield, Sussex, and brought the Corvette with him. He kept it until 1994; the next owner had it until 2002, and then it was in single-family ownership until now (2002-2026)!
Having evidently been cherished from new (and covered a remarkable 22, 700 miles), it is supplied with a vast history file, which includes the original assembly, workshop and owner’s manuals, many tax discs, an original set of spare keys, historic Florida titles and purchase invoices, assorted invoices for work and maintenance, and many MOTs from 1991 onwards. There is also a valuation report issued by Dart (‘The Corvette People’) in 2016 which valued it at £27, 000. Corvettes have a strong following in Britain, and such a good example as this one is bound to turn heads at Classic Corvette Club UK meetings and other American car events with its exceptional originality.
